The government’s approach to flight risk has become more restrictive under the current administration. Immigration judges across the country are growing increasingly reluctant to grant bond. In addition, the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (BIA’s) decision in Matter of A–W–M–K– hands U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) attorneys fresh footing to argue that a respondent’s prospects for relief are too speculative to justify release. In this new climate, practitioners need a stronger playbook for building the record of a plausible path to relief that a flight risk finding cannot easily dismiss. Our panel of former immigration judges will walk through how bond and flight risk determinations are made from the bench. They will advise attorneys on how best to rebut speculation arguments, deploy monetary bond and alternative conditions of supervision, and effectively advocate in post-habeas hearings where the burden has shifted to the government.

Featured Topics

• Defining “flight risk” as a spectrum of risk rather than the new “all or nothing” approach
• Defending against DHS positions that relief is “merely speculative,” and building a record of a plausible, non-frivolous path to relief that anchors a respondent to the proceedings
• Advocating in the wake of the BIA’s recent flight risk decision: Matter of A–W–M–K–, 29 I&N Dec. 805 (BIA 2026)
• Using monetary bond and alternative conditions of supervision to mitigate perceived flight risk and support a request for release
• Arguing that statutory eligibility for voluntary departure is itself a form of relief that can weigh against a finding of flight risk
• Litigating post-habeas custody hearings with a shifted burden of proof

Faculty

Kerry Doyle (DL), Boston, MA

Andrea Sáenz, AILA Amicus Committee Vice Chair, Arlington, VA

Noelle Sharp, Houston, TX

Jeremiah Johnson, Former Immigration Judge, San Francisco, CA

AILA Membership Benefit

AILA Membership Benefit – Access to Free Seminar Recordings
Enjoy access to free seminar recordings as an AILA Member. AILA encourages live attendance for those wishing to ask the speaker questions. Recordings will be available approximately two weeks after the live event date. AILA members can access these seminars, with no CLE credit, for free.